our team

Jay Hansen

Jay is co-founder, managing partner and President of O2 Investment Partners. He is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of private equity, corporate development and operating management experience. He has extensive acquisition, divestiture and investment experience in a variety manufacturing, manufacturing technology, logistics and distribution businesses located the U.S, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany and Italy, completing more than 15 transactions with aggregate revenues in excess of $1 billion and transaction value in excess of $500 million.

Jay has also served in executive management roles for manufacturing and distribution businesses, including COO and CFO for both public and privately held companies with operations in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia and revenues ranging from $100 million to more than $450 million. He has extensive experience in raising capital, including more than $750 million in both private and public senior debt, convertible subordinated debt, as well as experience in raising both public and private equity.

Prior to his career in private equity and executive management of operating businesses, Jay spent nearly 10 years working in the middle market and large corporate areas of commercial banking with a regional bank in Michigan.

Jay serves on the Board of Directors (Chairman of Audit Committee) of Flagstar Bank (NYSE: FBC), a publicly traded federal savings bank headquartered in Troy, Michigan with assets of $15 billion. Jay also serves on the Board of Directors (Audit, Comp Committees) of Power Solutions International (OTCBB: PSIX), a $150 million publicly traded leader in the design, engineering and manufacturer of emissions-certified alternative fuel and conventional power systems. In addition, Jay serves on the boards of our portfolio businesses, Silbond Corporation (Chairman) and NH United.

He is a graduate of The Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.

Todd Fink

Todd is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of O2 Investment Partners. He is also Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of REI Investment Group, a real estate development firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan that has successfully completed many substantial mixed-use, commercial, residential and industrial developments historically focused in Michigan and the Midwest region.

During his career, Todd has led or participated in multiple business acquisitions, mergers and divestitures, joint venture/partnership arrangements, as well as various financings and re-financings. Todd’s primary responsibilities include oversight of operations, finance and treasury functions. Todd is a Director of Silbond Corporation, and is Vice Chairman of NH United, LLC.

Previously, Todd was a partner in the Detroit-based law firm of Butzel Long, where he specialized in corporate, real estate and finance matters. Todd is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.

Gregg Orley

Gregg is co-founder and partner of O2 Investment Partners and is a highly successful private equity investor and real estate developer with more than 30 years of experience in investing in businesses in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, consumer hard goods, for-profit educational services, recreation, and real estate.

As the founding principal and CEO of REI Investment Group, a real estate development firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Gregg has led the acquisition, development and investment of substantial mixed-use, commercial, residential and industrial developments, historically focused in Michigan and the Midwest region. These projects have ranged from 80 to over 1400 acres and often involve complex land use, planning, regulatory, environmental and geotechnical issues.

Each business and real estate venture necessitates intricate evaluation, a sense of timing, detailed and creative planning, and team motivation. In this respect, Gregg has consistently demonstrated precise discipline and an imaginative canvass for each investment made by the company.

Gregg is a graduate of the University of Michigan in 1975.

Rob Orley

Rob is co-founder and partner of O2 Investment Partners and a seasoned executive and private equity investor with more than 30 years of experience in investing in businesses in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, consumer hard goods, for profit educational services, recreation, and real estate.

Rob is currently Chairman and CEO of RheTech, a plastics compounding manufacturer with annual revenues of approximately $75 million. He is also Chairman of NH United, LLC, a multiple franchisee owner of national computer training schools with annual revenue in excess of $30 million. He is also a major shareholder and director of New Horizons Worldwide, the franchisor for New Horizons Learning Centers, which has annual revenues in excess of $500 million.

Rob is a founding shareholder and board member of Telemus Capital, an NASD Broker-Dealer and investment firm with more than $2.5 billion in assets under management. Rob is also a founding shareholder and board member of Mackinaw Financial (NASDAQ: MNFC), a publicly traded bank holding company with assets of more than $500 million.

He is also co-founder and principal of REI Investment Group, a real estate development firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan that has successfully completed many substantial mixed-use, commercial, residential and industrial developments historically focused in Michigan and the Midwest region.

Rob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a JD from the Detroit College of Law and an LLM from Boston University School of Law.

Larry Lax

Larry is a co-founder and partner in O2 Investment Partners and is a seasoned real estate executive and private equity investor with more than 30 years of experience in investing in businesses in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, consumer hard goods, for profit educational services, recreation, and real estate.

Larry is also co-founder and partner in REI Investment Group, a real estate development firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan that has successfully completed many substantial mixed-use, commercial, residential and industrial developments historically focused in Michigan and the Midwest region. These projects have ranged from 80 to over 1400 acres and often involve complex land use, planning, regulatory, environmental and geotechnical issues. A noted example of Larry’s leadership can be found at Waterstone, a 1,300 acre master planned community in Oxford, Michigan. This former sand and gravel mining site was completely reclaimed by using state of the art remediation, compaction and mass grading techniques to achieve a mixed use community of more than 1,000 homes, an active adult community, 27 hole championship golf course, lakes, trails, community parks and shopping centers.

Larry has led REI’s construction and management activities for over twenty-five years. He is a licensed builder and is a graduate of Oakland University.

Luke K. Plumpton

Luke is Vice President of O2 Investment Partners. He is responsible for evaluating, structuring, negotiating and financing transactions, as well as monitoring O2’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining O2, Luke was the Director of Strategic Planning for Hanford Pharmaceuticals, a contract manufacturer and global supplier of aseptically processed antibiotics. Luke’s primary responsibilities included new business development and managing turnaround and cost cutting initiatives for the company. Prior to Hanford, Luke was instrumental in the buildup of Square 1 Bank, a venture debt bank serving high growth life sciences and technology companies. Prior to Square 1, Luke was an analyst in the Healthcare Investment Banking group of Wachovia Securities. His responsibilities included due diligence and deal facilitation for M&A, debt and equity transactions for both publicly traded and private healthcare companies.

Mr. Plumpton received his BA in economics from Harvard University, where he graduated with honors and was a member of the varsity lacrosse team. In addition to the Harvard curriculum, Mr. Plumpton studied Corporate Accounting at MIT’s Sloan Business School. Luke currently resides in Bloomfield Hills and is an avid outdoorsman, spending the majority of his free time hunting and fishing.

Walter J. “Bud” Aspatore

Mr. Aspatore, Chairman Emeritus, Amherst Partners, LLC, specializes in advising both public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, financings, business valuations, turnarounds, and other advisory services for companies engaged primarily in manufacturing, distribution and service-related industries. Mr. Aspatore represents clients on a worldwide basis.

Prior to co-founding Amherst Partners, Mr. Aspatore served as President of Cross and Trecker Corporation, an $800 million revenue worldwide factory automation equipment supplier. He has also served in numerous other operating capacities, namely as President and CEO of The Warner and Swasey Company and Vice President and Group Executive of the Bendix Corporation Industrial Tools Group.

Mr. Aspatore has also served as CFO of the Industrial Group of the Bendix Corporation and Vice President – Finance of the Industrial Energy Sector of the TRW Corporation. He has also served as Vice Chairman and President of Onset BIDCO, a Venture Capital and subordinated debt fund.

Mr. Aspatore has had extensive experience negotiating various sales and licensing agreements overseas. These transactions include negotiated agreements with Sintokogio, Toyoda, Murata Machinery and Yaskawa in Japan, Mannesman, Schneeberger and Zeiss in Germany, and Mysore Kirloskar in India. In addition, Mr. Aspatore has had direct operating responsibility for subsidiaries and joint ventures in Japan, Germany, England, Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Aspatore serves on the Board of Directors of Laser Measurement International, Cogsdill Tool Company, the US Board of Ricardo, plc (London: RCDO), Atlas Oil Company, Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: MEI), Mackinac Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: MFNC), RheTech, Inc. and Silbond Corporation. In addition, Mr. Aspatore is a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). Mr. Aspatore is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.